Chapter 33  The Third Secret Realm – A Conceptual Draft

“Creak—”

Ling Chen pushed open the door and saw two government enforcers standing outside, both around the sixth level of the Qi Refining stage.

“Is something the matter?” Ling Chen asked calmly.

The officer on the left said loudly, “The governor has issued an order—those black gravel fragments that fell from the sky yesterday are considered auspicious omens and must be collected and presented to the imperial court. Any civilians who picked them up must hand them over immediately. Anyone caught hoarding them will be severely punished!”

Ling Chen nearly laughed.

The black gravel he had casually created was now being treated as some kind of divine sign? This governor was quite the character.

“You can go now. I don’t have any black gravel here,” Ling Chen replied with a smile.

The officer on the left narrowed his eyes, his tone turning cold.

“You’d better be telling the truth. The governor is taking this matter very seriously. If I find out you’re—”

Before he could finish, the officer on the right quickly tugged his sleeve, giving him repeated warning glances.

“What’s the matter?” The officer on the left asked, clearly displeased.

Suddenly, it was like something clicked in his mind. He looked at Ling Chen again—

Foundation Establishment stage!

Fifth level of Foundation Establishment!

Holy crap!

The guard on the left nearly popped his eyes out in shock. They had clearly kicked an iron plate this time. A cultivator at the fifth level of the Foundation Establishment realm was definitely considered a powerful figure in Blackstone County.

As long as they didn’t offend someone as influential as the Xiao family, such a person could basically walk around unchallenged. They were absolutely not someone a lowly officer like him could afford to provoke.

“Senior, please forgive us! Please forgive us! I was blind and ignorant—we’ll leave right away!”

The two officers bowed repeatedly, then fled downstairs in a panic.

In their hearts, they were cursing the inn staff to high heaven. How could they not have mentioned that a major figure at the third level of Foundation Establishment was staying in this room?

Thankfully, this senior had a good temper.

If it had been someone more irritable, they would have definitely suffered punishment. While frightened, the two couldn’t help but feel secretly relieved.

“Received +8 Shock Points from Li Hu.”

“Received +9 Shock Points from Zhou Hong.”

“Received +8 Shock Points from Li Hu.”

“Received +9 Shock Points from Zhou Hong.”

“Received +8 Shock Points from Li Hu.”

“Received from Zhou Hong…”

“…”

Ling Chen looked at the Shock Points collection log, where several new entries had just refreshed in a row. It was obvious that the two constables were Li Hu and Zhou Hong. Even after fleeing the inn, the shadow left in their hearts hadn’t faded, and they were still providing Shock Points.

After a moment of thought, Ling Chen also stepped out of the inn. He saw the streets swarming with constables, rushing through alleys and urging the citizens to hand over the black gravel.

“It seems the Chixiao court intends to completely seal off the news that the ‘Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin’ came from the Mythical Era,” Ling Chen murmured.

He wasn’t surprised by such a decision.

The Mythical Era carried too much weight. There were countless fanatics devoted to it, especially among the powerful figures. They desperately hoped to find a path beyond the Great Emperor level—a road to true immortality—within the legends of the Mythical Era.

If any clues to that era were discovered, those people would surely swarm in. The mere Chixiao Divine Dynasty would never be able to bear the consequences of that. However, Ling Chen was in no rush. He had plenty of time to lay his plans slowly.

After strolling the streets for a while, Ling Chen returned to the inn and sat down on a chair, falling into deep thought. Since he intended to open up a third secret realm, the preparations had to be done properly first. The first step was the secret realm space. There was nothing to hesitate about here.

Ling Chen directly spent 300,000 Shock Points to purchase a Grade B secret realm space. With a casual gesture, he placed the secret realm space in front of him. Then he stepped inside.

The Grade B secret realm space was huge—immensely huge!

Ling Chen roughly estimated that it was over ten times the size of a Grade C secret realm space. It stretched out endlessly. It was even larger than Blackstone City by about thirty percent.

Satisfied, Ling Chen nodded and began strolling through the secret realm. He had high hopes for this secret realm and needed to plan it out carefully.

Previously, Xiao Yueying discovered the light gate mark I left behind in the Golden Crow Secret Realm. Should I take advantage of that and build a second layer to the Golden Crow Secret Realm? Ling Chen pondered.

It was the most straightforward idea, and the story was already in place. But if it only attracted Xiao Yueying and Yan Fei, it definitely wouldn’t be worth it. However, Ling Chen estimated that Xiao Yueying would most likely tell her father—Xiao Clan’s patriarch—about the Golden Crow secret realm.

This meant the Xiao Clan would definitely mobilize on a large scale, and more people would enter the secret realm. More importantly, Xiao Yueying had a strong protagonist aura. Investing more in her now would surely yield rich returns in the future.

“It’s decided then—the second level of the Golden Crow Secret Realm!”

Ling Chen wasn’t one to hesitate. He quickly made his decision. These chained dungeons were easy to design. Since the first level of the secret realm had used the identity of the Golden Crow Sixth Prince of the demon race’s heavenly court, the second level needed to continue that setting for consistency.

Compared to the first level, the second level would have denser spiritual energy, stronger treasures, and a more impactful storyline. And what story could be more shocking than the rise of the Demon Emperor Dijun, who founded the demon race’s heavenly court, waved the Summoning Banner, and commanded all the demons under heaven?

Without a doubt—it would be Hou Yi Shoots the Suns!

In the first level of the Golden Crow Secret Realm, he used the memory fragments of the Golden Crow Sixth Prince to show Xiao Yueying a once-glorious superpower of the Primordial Era—the Demon Race’s Heavenly Court!

And its peerless ruler—the Demon Emperor Dijun!

He believed that after witnessing those memories, the mighty image of the demon race’s heavenly court and Dijun must have left a deep impression on Xiao Yueying’s heart. So in this second level of the secret realm, he would thoroughly shatter that image!

In an extremely bloody and brutal fashion, he would show Xiao Yueying the other world-dominating force of that era.

The Wu Tribe!

Hou Yi!